Jawbox – S/T
Jawbox was a Washington D.C. hardcore band whose brief run from 1989 to 1997 never saw them really pull to the forefront of the punk vanguard. They started on mega credible Dischord Records, releasing two well-respected full lengths, before getting signed to a major for their third album, For Your Own Special Sweetheart.
Something happened that rarely does in these situations: their major label output was actually better, more fully realized than their early work… hitting with the impact of three dozen steel folding chairs. They followed Sweetheart with a self-titled album that would be their last, other than a collection of b-sides and alt takes called My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents.
Band leader J. Robbins became a sought-after producer following Jawbox’s demise, and as well he recorded with new and great projects like Burning Airlines and Channels… but neither had the satisfying whooooooooomp of Jawbox.
So, now, for the under-initiated, Dischord has snagged the rights to reissue the band’s self-titled swan song… giving you all the opportunity to hear how melodies catch fire and rhythms can trip and dance like eight-legged ballerinas, drunk on grappa. It. is. recommended.
